“Aurora, Daphne’s badly hurt. Only your spirit core can save her.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be quick. You won’t suffer long!”

Behind the pale veil, Julian Dobson raised his dagger high, aiming straight for the spirit chamber of the girl lying unconscious on the bed.

The familiar, piercing pain hit again. Aurora Brooks jolted awake, cursing out loud.

“Shit!”

Not again. She was dead. Again.

Ten days ago, Aurora woke up inside a popular cultivation novel, trapped in the body of a side character with her name and face—whose only job was to serve the beloved heroine, Daphne Sterling.

Daphne screwed up? Aurora took the blame.

Daphne got hurt? Aurora offered herself up.

And in the end? Her own fiancé Julian carved out her spirit core and left her to rot.

Great—Aurora had landed smack in the middle of that exact scene.

She’d died over and over in this godforsaken loop like some bugged-out dream. No exit. No mercy.

Now, with Julian’s blade just inches away and his voice dripping with the same fake concern, rage flared in Aurora’s chest. She threw him off with all her strength.

“Get lost!”

If someone had to be a tool, let it be anyone but her. This time, she’d rather die fighting than let Julian take her spirit core again.

[Ding~ Hello, Host. ‘Side Character Salvation System’ Harmony now at your service.]

A soft voice echoed in her mind—and just like that, everything froze. Time stopped. Julian, mid-pounce, hung in the air like a statue.

“A system? For me?” Aurora gritted her teeth and laughed bitterly. “Where the hell have you been?! Do you know how many times I’ve died?!”

[Apologies, Host. Mainframe couldn’t overcome the world’s laws, causing a glitch in your transfer—and thus the cycle.]

“Yeah? Apologies won’t cut it. Got anything worth my time?”

[To compensate for your suffering, I can grant you one wish.]

“I want to leave Yuntian Sect.”

[Regretfully, that wish is beyond Harmony's ability. Please choose something more feasible.]

...Aurora frowned.

“Fine. Give me a fake spirit core made from Blood Mist Grass.”

[Ding~ Wish granted.]

Harmony chirped brightly.

[Reminder: Blood Mist Grass corrodes the spirit chamber. Please remove the false core within fifteen minutes to avoid injury.]

As the words faded, time resumed once more.

Julian’s eyes landed on her. Disappointment flickered with something harsher—impatience.

“Aurora, don’t be like this. Daphne’s hanging by a thread—we need your core now!”

“Oh? And if I lose it, I die. Why don’t you rip out your own for her?”

Julian choked on his words. What the hell was wrong with Aurora today? She’d always done what he said—obedient, quick to sacrifice herself. Now she bites back?

Was it the pain?

“That’s different! You’ve got full spirit roots—only your core suits her. And she got hurt saving you!”

“Oh, shut it. I said from the start—I’m mortal. I didn’t want to enter that damn realm! It was Daphne who dragged me in, chasing treasure, and got herself mangled by a beast. Now you’re pinning it all on me?”Aurora Brooks glared at Julian Dobson and spat, “You really got no shame—ripping off your own skin just to patch another side!”

She was seething. If she wasn’t drained of spiritual power and if her Spirit Core wasn’t aching like hell, she’d have shoved that dagger right back into Julian’s Spirit Core without a second thought.

Before he could say a word, Aurora gripped the dagger at her waist, plunged it into her own Spirit Core, and yanked out a so-called "spirit bone" with a swift motion that made Julian freeze in shock.

“I’ll let you have this spirit bone to save Daphne Sterling,” she said coldly, “but on one condition. If you don’t agree, I’ll crush it right here. I die, and she goes with me.”

Julian said, “As long as you hand it over, I’ll agree to anything.”

“I want a written dissolution of our engagement. I’m leaving Yuntian Sect.”

“What did you just say?!”

"I said I want to break off the engagement. I’m done with Yuntian Sect!"

Julian’s eyes were wide with disbelief—Aurora wanted to break up? Walk out of his life and leave the sect? She, a girl with full spirit roots and terrible aptitude, would've been thrown out long ago if not for that engagement!

And now, just for one spirit bone, she dared bring this up?

Julian’s face stayed calm, but inside he was furious. Fine, let’s see how long she lasts without him or Yuntian Sect. Give it time—she’d come crawling back.

Without another word, he wrote the breakup document, tossed it at her feet, and said, “Give me the bone.”

Aurora threw the “spirit bone” his way. Julian immediately caught it and vanished using a teleportation spell, heading toward Daphne’s quarters.

She then picked up the breakup letter and stuffed it along with her belongings into a storage pouch, standing without hesitation. She turned and walked down the mountain.

To hell with being someone’s tool. To hell with Yuntian Sect. She was done.

She was leaving. And once she broke away from this nest of lunatics, there wasn’t anywhere she couldn’t survive.

As for the pain and betrayal—Aurora Brooks would pay it back in full one day.

Her Spirit Core was shattered, and by the time she made it to the gates, the white robe she wore was soaked red with blood. Word about her breakup with Julian had already spread through the sect like wildfire.

Now the sect gate was full of disciples waiting to see the joke.

But the petite figure of Aurora didn’t even glance their way. Step after step, she dragged her battered body down the mountain. She was slow, but her back stayed straight.

Some disciples who’d come to mock her felt their words catch in their throats, turning into fleeting sympathy—quickly drowned in scoffing voices.

“Don’t tell me you’re feeling bad for her?”

“Are you kidding? She brought this on herself! She's nothing but petty and spiteful. The one who’s really suffering is little junior sister—she nearly died because of her!”

“Exactly! Aurora’s a useless thorn with a rotten heart. How could she ever compare to our kind, beautiful little sister?”

“Senior Julian and our junior sister are the perfect pair. Aurora was always just in the way.”

Aurora heard it all, but her face stayed blank.

Just a bunch of mindless simps for the leading lady—why bother?

She’d leave this place, and what waited for her out there... could only be better.

But she hadn’t made it far. Barely past the gate, as she stepped into the edge of the Darknight Forest, her injuries caught up with her—she collapsed.

At the same moment, a blue light wrapped around her. In a flash, Aurora vanished without a trace.